I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans. Yes, I was sweating. Why? Well, today was my first day in this school. See, my dad worked in a transferable job, therefore, I couldn’t stay in one place for long- maximum I had stayed in one city was around 2 ½ years. I never made ‘best’ friends wherever I lived. Why? Because I tended to lose them. A memory still arose whenever I thought about the topic of ‘best’ friend.
“… It all happened when I was in first grade. There was this thing in every school I had visited till then that all boys sat separately and all girls on the other side. Well, as I was naïve and small, I lived each moment as if it was meant for me specifically.
In those days I met Ravi. Yes, he was my first and last best friend. We were like brothers, did all tasks together. Heck, we even bathed together! Our parents were happy with our friendship.All was going well for us, we both were happy. Then it happened. My dad got transferred to Delhi. I was crestfallen. This transfer meant that Ravi and I will be separated.
I fought with my parents saying that I wanted to stay in Jaipur with Ravi. They didn’t agree. We had a huge argument lasting for 2 hours that night. In the end, they grounded me to my room for 1 day. After the grounding was over, I discovered that Ravi had done the same thing I had done the day before- a fight with his parents. He too had been grounded.
We met in the park. As Ravi came towards me, I spoke, “Ravi, it seems that we can’t live our own lives. We have to subdue our wishes and be dominated by others. Being in first grade, no one gives our life any importance.”
Ravi frowned and then said, “Well, Anant, what you say may be true, but we have to face the inevitable: you will move to Delhi and I will continue to live here. Well, how bad can it be? We will continue to chat with each other through phones and Myspace!...”
And yes, I was spellbound!
I was cut out from my flashback suddenly. The reason was that someone had collided with me. He was a burly boy of maybe 10th grade. I was scared of him, even though I was in the same grade. Well, I quickly mumbled my sorry and went past my way. Well, even though it was his fault, I said sorry. I am not a person who loves to fight.
Heck, I wasn’t a child like the rest. I never thought of myself as cool. I was a regular looking boy of around 5 feet 8 inches with a lean frame. I never thought myself as good looking and accepted every taunt, comment, appraisal with a thin smile. I had too many heartbreaks to get deterred by these words. The heartbreaks ain’t due to girlfriends. They were due to getting parted from friends, but the vastest void in my heart was still due to parting with Ravi.
I didn’t stop until I reached the classroom. I saw that nearly half the class was full with the front row occupied. I loved the front row. Why? Well, no student could harm you as you were sitting in front of the teacher. I don’t know how I inculcated the habit, but when I had got it, it seemed like the safest path for me in the long run.
I sat in the second row, a compromise, but it didn’t matter that much as I was still near the front row. Then the whole class became silent. It was because someone had entered through the door. I had my back towards it. I turned around and saw that the big, burly kid had entered my section! Drat! My luck was bad. He brushed past me and sat on the corner bench in the last row.I looked at my partner and introduced myself.
“Hey, I am Anant. I just came to this school from Hyderabad. It’s a different atmosphere here! And you are?”
He smiled and replied, “Hey Anant. Delhi is meant to have a different atmosphere. After all, it’s the capital of India! Well, I am Shashank. Nice to meet you. We are meant to have lots of fun together!”I got excited. It had been a long time since I had made a friend, I never intended to. But the jovial nature and his good looks made me think twice. He was around 5 feet 7 inches with an athletic figure and lush black hair. He was definitely handsome! Our school was no different than all the other schools of India. Girls and boys sat like they had an allergy from each other.
Well, I didn’t dwell on that. No one could change this system. I had thought a lot about it but then felt too small to do anything.
Since that big burly boy had entered the class, I wanted to know a bit about him. So I asked Shashank, “Who is that boy who is sitting in that seat?” I pointed towards the seat while saying. Shashank saw where I was pointing and quickly pulled my hand down. He whispered in my ear,
“Take this advice Anant, never, ever, ever mess around that guy. His name is Sarthak. He is the biggest bully you could ever face. I would tell you more about him when you come around my house someday. Why at my house? Because homes are the only place he can’t sneak around and come to listen to our thoughts.”
Okay, I was intrigued. This was the first time I had heard something like this. But, as Shashank had said, I needn’t dwell on it. It still occupied a huge pain in my mind, but I couldn’t say anything. This guy had ears everywhere.
I was cut from my thoughts when a beautiful girl came near Sarthak and started chatting with him. She had lush brown hair, black eyes like gems and a petite and curvy figure. In short, she was extremely pretty.
I again looked at my partner for the details. He saw where I was hinting and quickly turned my face towards him. He looked in my eyes and said, “Anant, this is one thing you need to be warned off. She is the most beautiful girl of this school and is Sarthak’s sister. And seeing the family relation, don’t mess with her too. She is a bitch. This is the perfect application of the quote “looks are deceptive.””
Okay, I was surprised at this. The burly guy had a beautiful sister? Amazing. I replied back, “ Well, I am not into girls and all that stuff. I have had too many heartbreaks by shifting again and again. Heartbreaks from my friends. So, I can’t have a relationship.”
But, to say that the above sentence was true is a lie. The first time I had a crush on a girl and she was off-limits. Damn, this was going to be interesting.
I smiled at Shashank and looked forward to finishing the first day at school and in all this I forgot to ask what her name was.
This is the first post of Spellbound series. Next post will continue from here. Post your opinions below!